Boulder mulls whether city offices need to stay in civic area

City leaders struggled Tuesday night with whether certain municipal offices should remain in Boulder's civic heart as it evolves in the future.

The "civic area" is home to eight city facilities, amounting to 180,000 square feet of space that provides offices to nearly 400 city employees.

Two of the buildings, Park Central, 1739 Broadway, and New Britain, 1101 Arapahoe Ave., are in a flood zone and could not be built where they stand under current city codes, according to officials.

"What is our strategy if the 100-year flood comes tomorrow?" Sam Assefa, senior urban designer for Boulder's Community Planning and Sustainability Department, asked the City Council on Tuesday night, noting the buildings are home to critical transportation and utilities infrastructure services.

"How will we phase out the services that are provided in those buildings?" he said. "What services should be considered for relocation sooner than later? What civic services should stay in the civic area?"

Councilman George Karakehian said that because space is at a premium in the civic area, the city might look elsewhere if it decides to relocate services from the New Britain and Park Central offices.

"Since the land is so dear down here, should we include a look at offices somewhere else?" he said. "I would like us to stay open and flexible. I'm not saying board everything up and leave, but this is pretty tight land down here and pretty expensive, so let's stay loose."

Other council members disagreed, following up on a comment made by City Manager Jane Brautigam that Boulder residents are comfortable coming to the civic area to do city business.

"I think it's really important that we have a government function that stays down here," Councilman Tim Plass said. But: "With the Park Central building, we may be putting our own employees at risk and our citizens and a lot of records, and that's a big issue."

Mayor Matt Appelbaum said space and safety should be addressed and resolved in the early phases of the civic area redevelopment.

"If we really thought we were going to have to replace (these buildings) at some point and we want to keep most of those services downtown, where are we going to put them?" he said. "It seems like you have to have the answer in advance."

Boulder city staff members this year began working with the City Council and residents on creating a common vision for the possible redevelopment of the civic area.

The area, which stretches from Ninth to 17th Streets between Arapahoe Avenue and Canyon Boulevard and bisected by Boulder Creek, is home to numerous city facilities and popular cultural features including the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and the Boulder Farmers' Market.